Inconveniences
by jeronimotorchwood
Summary: Aang thought that he wouldn't have minded Gyatso's absence for 3 weeks. But when he has to spend that time at Zuko's, he's not sure he can forget that summer and the inconveniences that befell him in those 3 weeks. AU ZukoxAang.
1. Inconvenience Number 1

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Important Note:**This is an AU fic set in the 21st CENTURY. No benders.**  
Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCONVENIENCES**

**INCONVENIENCE NO.1  
Having To Share A Room**

"Gyatso! You're back." Aang said, bounding out of the kitchen as he heard the front door slam shut.

"Hello, Aang." His guardian said, somewhat tiredly.

"So..." The air bender said as he looked expectantly at Gyatso. "What did the doctor say?"

"Oh, that..." Gyatso said with a frown. "He says that I need to go for this program for three weeks. It's supposed to help with the arthritis."

"That's great!" Aang said encouragingly as he plopped down onto the couch and gestured for Gyatso to join him.

"To an extent. I'll have to go away for a while. He says that the program is near the coast so as to provide us with serene surroundings." Gyatso said tiredly as he sat down as well.

"I don't mind staying here alone. I'm almost seventeen, Gyatso." He said eagerly.

"I'm not too keen on leaving you here. Who knows what you'll be up to." Gyatso said as they exchanged an amused glance.

"I promise I'll be good!" Aang said innocently with a huge smile.

"Hm." Gyatso said dismissively as he stood up and shrugged off his coat. "Either way, Aang, I visited Iroh on the way home." He said somewhat gravely.

"And?" Aang said absentmindedly as he took the coat from Gyatso and hung it on the stand.

"He says his nephew is willing to help him take care of you for the summer." Gyatso said and hastily shuffled into the kitchen.

Aang blanched and followed after Gyatso with a scowl. "I'm not a child, Gyatso! I don't need anyone to _take care_ of me." He said defiantly.

"Are you certain about that, Aang?" He said as he pointedly looked at Aang's clenched fists and pouting expression. "I'm not."

"But Gyatso!" Aang whined.

"I'm sorry, Aang. But you'll be staying with Iroh and Zuko for as long as I'm gone." Gyatso said firmly.

"But they're both such weirdos! Iroh never talks about anything but tea and Zuko sits in a corner and scowls all the time. And he hangs out with all those weirdos from school. That's hardly fun." Aang said insistently.

"My decision is final, Aang. Unless, you'd like to stay over at Ursa and Ozai's." Gyatso said, as a smug little smile curved his lips upwards.

Aang let out a horrified gasp and at once relented. "With _Azula_? No, thank you." He said shakily.

"I thought so. Now, help me make lunch." Gyatso said as he looked at Aang with a smile.

* * *

"Ah, nephew." Iroh said as he propped open the door and stood aside so that Zuko could enter.

"I've missed you, uncle." He said as a rare grin curved his lips upwards.

"And I you." Iroh said fondly as he shut the door. "Your room is ready. Our guest will be here in a few minutes." He said merrily.

Zuko, who had been in the middle of putting his backpack onto the table, immediately swiveled around to face Iroh. "Guest?" He echoed incredulously.

"Yes, I'm certain I told Ozai that Gyatso's ward, or as he likes to call him, his 'son' will be staying with us for three we-"

"Aang?" Zuko spat out.

"I wasn't aware that you knew him, nephew."

"I don't know him." Zuko said disgustedly. "He just...insists on talking to every breathing person at school." He muttered irritably.

"Then you know him." Iroh said happily. "That makes things all the more easier."

"Easier? But..no! No one asked me if I wanted him here." Zuko insisted as Iroh disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ah, but who wouldn't want him here? Aang's a good boy."

"A good boy? You're willing to take in a seventeen year old who is completely capable of taking care of himself, for three weeks just because he's a _good boy_?" Zuko exclaimed.

"Why, indeed." Iroh said.

But before Zuko could spit out a few more protests, the doorbell rang.

"Uncle!" He said loudly as Iroh sidled out of the kitchen and into the hall. "No, don't open the door." He said desperately.

"Zuko, be quiet." Iroh hummed as he reached for the doorknob.

Zuko, in one last act of desperation, squeezed his way in between the wall and Iroh, and promptly threw himself at the door.

However, Iroh chose that precise moment to throw open the door and Zuko, instead of colliding with it, flew straight through the wide open doorway. Any hope he had of braking was sadly thrown out the window as his foot caught in the fluffy rug that Iroh insisted on keeping, and the next thing he knew, he was sprawled messily on the front steps.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, he was on top of someone. A part of his mind desperately hoped that it wasn't Gyatso since he didn't want to be held responsible for the old man's death. This further branched into the thought that if he did, indeed, murder Gyatso, he would go to juvenile hall while his Uncle would be stuck taking care of Aang.

Panic of the most ridiculous kind swept through him and he hurriedly scrambled to his knees, a relieved sigh slipped through his lips as he saw that it was only Aang.

A blushing Aang.

"Uh, hey, Zuko." He said with a wide grin.

However, he did not miss the way it seemed to waver at the edges and his golden eyes followed Aang's panicked gaze to where it was darting down to his legs. Zuko's brow furrowed in puzzlement but as soon as his eyes found just what it was that seemed to horrify Aang so much, Zuko let out a rather unmanly 'eek' and scrambled off of the younger boy. With a loud 'oomph' he fell on his butt on the stone of the sidewalk but at least that was better than straddling Aang.

God.

"Sorry." Zuko muttered gruffly as he brushed the dust off his black pants and heaved himself up. He half-heartedly offered his hand to Aang and lifted him off the ground with one firm yank. Zuko made sure to let go of his hand extra soon and if he said that Aang didn't practically snatch his hand away too, he'd be lying. The scarred teen fought down a blush and then turned to Gyatso and Iroh.

"Zuko! It's been so long." Gyatso exclaimed.

"Uh, sure, Gyatso." Zuko said with a sideways glance at Aang.

"You've grown so much. Taller than your uncle already, I see."

"Yeah, well. That's not really difficult." Zuko muttered.

There was a pause and then, Zuko tried not to scowl as Iroh chuckled and behind him, Aang giggled.

"Zuko, Aang, why don't you go ahead and set the table for dinner?" Iroh said as Zuko attempted to sidle into the house again.

The scarred teen sighed and with a muttered swearword, grabbed Aang's backpack and began to haul it into the house.

"Oh no. You don't have to." Aang insisted as he hurried into the hallway after Zuko.

"Do I look like someone who would be carrying someone's bags just because I wanted to?" Zuko said coldly. "My uncle told me I have to treat you properly. Or, at least, that is what I gathered." He muttered, almost as an afterthought.

"No, seriously. You don't have to, Zuko." Aang repeated.

"Go into the kitchen. I'll set this in your room." Zuko snapped irritably.

"No, give it."

There was a pause and then Zuko turned to face Aang, his eyebrows threatening to disappear into his black bangs.

"I said I'll take it." Zuko slowly said through gritted teeth.

"And I said that you don't have to." Aang said irritably as he stepped forward and his hand closed around the strap of his bag.

"Look, I'm actually trying to be nice here. So, let go of the bag." Zuko said coldly.

"It's my bag. I don't need you treating me like a princess." Aang said calmly as his grip tightened around the bag and he yanked at it.

"On the contrary, someone who looks like a princess should be treated like one."

There was a pause and then, Aang's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "What the hell does that even mean?" He wondered in bewilderment.

"Just give me the bag." Zuko repeated.

"Wow, you are not good at being nice." Aang said as he yanked harder on the bag.

"Shut up and give me the bag, you twerp." Zuko said.

There was a pause and Zuko bristled angrily as Aang defiantly raised his chin to look him in the eye. However, before either of them could do anything more, the front door flew open and a laughing Gyatso and Iroh entered the house.

"-only yesterday!" Iroh finished as they entered the living room. "Zuko, have you set the tab- Oh dear..." Iroh said as his gaze fell on both of their scowls and the black bag trapped in between them.

"I'll set it, Uncle. Just give me a _minute_." Zuko said, the last word coming out in a grunt as he violently pulled the bag from Aang's hands. There was a tense pause and then, Zuko turned on his heel and began to climb up the stairs.

"I'll be right back. Just want to get a feel for my new room." Aang said with a bright smile. Without waiting for a reply, he sidled out of the living room and rapidly dashed up stairs. Turning into the landing, he walked straight into a rather irritated Zuko.

"Why are you so fucking obsessed with your bag?" Zuko demanded angrily.

"I'm not. I just want to see my room." Aang said as he irritably shrugged off the older boy's hand and walked around him. "So where is it?"

There was a pause and then, Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. "I..."

"What?" Aang asked as he shot him a shrewd look.

"I don't know where it is. There's only two rooms in this house." Zuko said in astonishment.

Aang, whose gaze had drifted over to an oil painting hanging on the wall, at once snapped back to Zuko and he blanched as he realized the implication of the older boy's words. "No." Zuko said flatly.

"Of course not!" Aang said loudly.

"No, no, no. My uncle can't do this to me." Zuko muttered feverishly as he pushed Aang aside and thundered down the landing to his temporary room. As he threw open the door, what he saw inside made him blanch. "Oh shit." He muttered.

Behind him, he heard Aang's murmured, 'Oh.'

Because in place of the couch that sat at the foot of his bed every summer, there was now a fold-up bed.

* * *

_Well, here you go! :] A brand new Zukaang for all of you. And it's gonna star the way too awesome JET! *is excited*  
I'm really sorry that I haven't yet updated Once Upon A Play but I have hit such an intense road block concerning it that I can't even write one sentence without hit the backspace key. Sincerest apologies :'[_

_But on a brighter note, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it! :D Stay tuned for this fic because I've actually planned this one out. Hopefully, that'll ward off the writer's block :P_

_Hope you enjoyed! And review! :] Because then I shall definitely update before New Year. ;]  
Yes, that's a bribe :P_

_-Jade_


	2. Inconvenience Number 2

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCONVENIENCE NO. 2  
Room-mate = Blunt Bastard**

Zuko's jaw was tight with anger as he violently pulled out his chair and sat down for dinner. Once he and Aang had come downstairs, Zuko had been forced to set the table. Aang had decided to help. Unfortunately, Zuko found out too late that the younger boy apparently thought that nearly dropping someone else's plate in order to make your displeasure known, qualified as helping.

'Zuko tells me that the two of you go to school together.' Iroh said as he pushed the salad bowl towards Aang.

'Yes, we do.' he said as he shot Zuko a sideways glance.

'Do you have many classes together?' Iroh wondered.

'No, I'm a year older,' Zuko said.

'Do you have many friends, Aang?' Iroh asked as he took the salad bowl and delicately dropped some leaves onto his own plate.

'Um, yeah, I s'pose,' Aang said with a weak smile.

'Have you ever met Zuko's? They're very...intriguing. But I'm sure they're all very nice children.' Iroh said with a wide smile.

'No, not really.' Aang said as he took a bite of the chowman. His gray eyes flickered towards Zuko and the older boy stared back, scowling.

'Well, what's your favorite subje-' Iroh began but was cut off as Zuko clanged his fork harder than was necessary against his plate.

'Let him eat, Uncle.' Zuko said, his voice sharper than he had intended for it to be. Iroh's eyes flickered towards him but not before Aang's eyebrows rose, nearly disappearing into his bangs. 'I mean, let me eat.' he hastily said.

Iroh was silent for a while and then bowed his head; however, Zuko did not miss the smile tugging at his lips.

By the time, Iroh decided on an another interrogation, Zuko had scarfed down his food so fast he was afraid he would throw up. However, it was worth it as his Uncle once again opened his mouth to ask Aang a question and Zuko stood up, shooting his uncle a smug smirk before disappearing into the kitchen.

'So, what sports do you play?'

'Just soccer.' Aang's voice drifted in through the open kitchen door. 'I play as a forward for the school team.' He said

Zuko was slightly peeved to realize that he could detect the smile in Aang's voice.

'Well, an old man wouldn't know anything about that.' Iroh said with a chuckle.

Zuko turned on the water and washed and dried his plate before going back into the living room where Aang was fingering the edge of his empty plate. 'Why don't you and Aang do the dishes, Zuko? I'm sure it'll help you two get to know each other.' Iroh said.

'But I thought it was do-your-own-dishes month.' Zuko protested.

Iroh shot him a look which obviously meant 'behave'. Zuko huffed before stacking the plates and glaring at Aang to follow him.

* * *

'Wow, your uncle's...' Aang said as he spread an old blanket out over the fold-up bed.

'What?' Zuko asked, his mouth full of toothpaste and his voice echoing inside the bathroom.

'He likes to talk.' Aang remarked.

'I think your complaining would be justified if you didn't run around the whole school, talking to every breathing person.' Zuko said, with a derisive snort.

'I don't run around the school.' Aang said defiantly. 'People like me!'

'Yeah, right.' Zuko said as he bent over the sink and spat into it. He straightened, only to see Aang's reflection staring at him, with a strange expression on his face. 'What?'

'They do.' Aang insisted with a frown.

'Do what?' Zuko asked as he flicked the switch and closed the bathroom door behind him.

'Like me.'

'People hate you. You talk too much for it to be even remotely healthy for the people around you.' Zuko said as he turned off the bedroom light before sliding into bed.

'Funny.' Aang said, his voice laced with something that Zuko couldn't quite place.

The older boy lay in silence, staring up into the darkness as he wondered if he had been too blunt. The contemplation didn't last too long and he was asleep within seconds, blissfully unaware of what he had just instigated.

* * *

The following morning, Zuko opened his eyes, only to squeeze them back shut as he realized that someone had thrown open the curtains. He breathed out hard, trying to ignore the slight throbbing in his temples and sat up. His annoyance grew as his eyes fell on the slightly ajar door and the neat bed to his left. He was just about to grow thoroughly irritated when he heard the door to the bathroom unlock and Aang click the door shut behind him.

'Draw the fucking curtains!' Zuko loudly.

'It's noon.' Aang said simply.

'Do I honestly look like I give a shit?' Zuko yelled, his face flushing red with anger as the throb in his temples intensified.

Aang bit his lip. However, it was not - as Zuko would have liked - a nervous gesture but more of a thoughtful one. The older boy's jaw tightened with anger as Aang's eyes roved over his bed head before drifting down to his legs, which were entangled in the bedsheets. 'Not quite. But you don't look very threatening either, if that was what you were aiming for.' Aang said coolly.

Zuko stared at the younger boy for a full minute, the lack of intimidation that his anger was producing rendering him speechless. Aang stared back with a small smile on his lips. However, it was not the bright smile that Zuko was accustomed to seeing on his face whenever he did incidentally run into him. Oh no, it most certainly wasn't that. The smile was stiff and cold, fitting in a little too perfectly with the stony look in Aang's eyes.

'Did I...' Zuko began before choking on his words as he realized what he had been about to say. _Did I do something?_ The older boy didn't need more than a second to realize that, judging by the look in Aang's eyes, a statement as vulnerable as that would only come back to bite him in the ass. Instead, he cleared his throat before staring pointedly at the door. 'Get out.' he said coldly.

'No.' Aang said, even more icily.

'What did you say?' Zuko echoed, paling with anger as Aang glared back.

'As far as I know, I'm staying in this room for three weeks. I feel it would be an invasion of your Uncle's privacy if I decided to roam around his house.' he said calmly. 'Besides, we're sharing now so I've got just as much a right to stay in this room as you do.'

'Except that this is _my_ room.' Zuko said. It was a moment before he fully registered the underlying childish whine in his own voice.

Aang seemed to pick up on the shift in tone and his smile took on a more smug appearance. 'I'm not calling it my room.' Aang countered, his shoulders relaxing as he turned to his back pack and took off his shirt.

'It sure sounds like you are.' Zuko said.

'Relax, Zuko. I'm not going to steal your toys.' Aang said in a tone that could only be non-offending for a three year old.

'Get out.' Zuko said through gritted teeth.

Aang, who had been rummaging in his back pack for a t-shirt, turned to Zuko; his expression contorted with annoyance. 'Or what?'

'I'll-'

'Kick me out? Beat me up? I guess those are pretty scary but I really don't see any reason to be civil with you since, y'know, everyone already hates me and all.' he said coldly.

And just like that, the reason behind Aang's indignation hit Zuko like a slap in the face and he stared at the younger boy's back as he pulled on his shirt and then slipped out of the room. The slam of the door rang in Zuko's ears.

He supposed he had been too blunt, after all.

* * *

_Thank you so much for all the reviews, you guys! :D You have no idea how much I appreciate them, because frankly, I wasn't expecting that much enthusiasm :P_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review! :]_

_To **a very upset person**: Admittedly, I'm not entirely sure whether you're being sarcastic or just unaware of the fact that people do write Zukaang fics. To answer your unreasonable questions, No and Yes. :P_

_-Jade_


	3. Inconvenience Number 3

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCONVENIENCE NO. 3  
Getting Punched**

By the time, noise began to drift up from the kitchen - alerting Zuko of Iroh's return from his weekly Pai Sho game with Piandao - the clock had struck two. It didn't take much prompting to get himself out of bed; the throbbing in his temples and Aang's words having prevented him from sleeping fitfully. Zuko yawned as he stretched luxuriously, his shirt riding up and his legs tangling in the sheets even more. A moment passed and then he heaved himself out of bed before padding barefoot over to the bathroom.

Several minutes later, Zuko was trudging into the kitchen; his hair still sticking out in absurd directions since he hadn't been able to find a comb.

'Good morning, nephew.' Iroh said from where he was sitting at the kitchen table across from Aang. A Pai Sho board rested on the table between them.

'Uncle, didn't you play Pai Sho with Piandao today?' Zuko said, his eyebrows raised.

'One can never have enough Pai Sho, Zuko,' Iroh said merrily. 'Especially when they find themselves with quite the formidable opponent.'

'Who? Him?' Zuko said, his lips curving into a smirk as he shot Aang a sideways glance.

The younger boy stared back, his expression stony. It was a few seconds before Zuko realized that he wasn't about to get a reply. 'Where'd you put the aspirin, Uncle? It was in the bathroom, last time I came.'

'I moved it into the medicine cabinet with the rest.' Iroh said as he vaguely waved his hand in the air, his eyes fixed on the Pai Sho board.

Zuko nodded absentmindedly before crossing the room and rummaging in the cabinet for the box of aspirin. By the time he managed to find a glass - it seemed that Iroh had moved those too - his uncle was standing up. 'Well, I must go and fetch that antique teapot from Miyako. She threatened to sell it if I didn't come and get it soon.' he said with a chuckle. 'Make yourself some breakfast and eat before you take the aspirin.' Iroh said. 'Would you mind cleaning up the board, Aang? It goes into the living room cabinet. Zuko can help you put it back. It's rather heavy but I'm running a little late.'

'Yeah, sure. I don't mind.' Aang said as he stood up as well.

Iroh went out into the hall; there was the sound of him putting on his coat and a goodbye echoed through the house before the door clicked shut.

Once he'd left, an awkward silence fell over the kitchen. Aang shot Zuko a distasteful look and the older boy stared back, unwaveringly. It was only once Aang busied himself with putting the Pai Sho tiles in their box that Zuko set to making himself some breakfast. He opted only for some toast smeared with jam and ceremoniously set the plate onto the table before sitting down.

Zuko ate in silence, his eyes fixed on Aang as he attempted to heave up the board. However, he wasn't quite succeeding and the older boy hid his grin behind his hand as he huffed and finally managed to haul it up. Only to have it slam down onto the table two seconds later.

'Ever heard of working out?' Zuko drawled with raised eyebrows.

'Well, I dunno. Ever heard of shutting the fuck up, _Zuko_?' Aang said through gritted teeth.

A smirk tugged at Zuko's lips. 'Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?'

There was a pause and then the board clattered back onto the table. 'Excuse me?' he asked testily.

'I asked, shouldn't you be asking yourself if you've ever heard of shutting the fuck up?' Zuko repeated.

'Is that supposed to be smartass or something?' Aang asked with a sneer.

'Is _that_ supposed to be smartass?' Zuko countered as he leaned back in his chair and looked at Aang.

The younger boy merely stared back, a truly bewildered expression on his face. 'Is _what_ supposed to be badass?'

Zuko merely stared back at Aang, a disgusted expression on his face. 'God, you're stupid.'

'Well, you're tactless.' Aang retorted.

'Ouch.' Zuko said sarcastically. 'I think my heart just broke.' he said as he took a bite of his toast.

Aang narrowed his eyes at him and Zuko could do nothing to hold back a snort as the younger boy made a face.

'Loser.' Zuko said with a roll of his eyes.

Aang did not reply and instead, went back to trying to heave up the board. He bent his knees and squatted next to the table before placing both his hands against the end of the board that was farthest from him and pushing it against his chest. It was an entertaining process.

At first, that is.

Then it just got annoying.

By the fifteenth unsuccessful attempt, Zuko had finished his breakfast, had his aspirin and washed the dishes. And he was getting very irritated.

However, Aang seemed to be getting happier with each fall that the board took and every few minutes, his eyes would flicker toward Zuko. But even though the older boy fiercely stared back, Aang looked him in the eye and then went back to trying to heave the board up.

However, it was only once the boy looked at him and _smirked_ in that infuriating way that Zuko pushed himself away from the counter and grabbing Aang by the shoulder, spun him around.

'Stop dropping the fucking board!' Zuko yelled as the board fell with a crash that made Zuko's temples throb. His grip tightened around Aang's shoulder and he pushed him back against the table.

'Ow!' Aang yelled.

'Shut up.' Zuko hissed.

'Or what?' Aang retorted.

His words were met with silence and Zuko stared down at him for a full minute. The older boy wasn't quite sure what made him do it. Perhaps it was the fact that even as he thought, Aang was chattering. Talking, talking, talking; the words rolling off his tongue without a pause and the sound of his voice worming its way into Zuko's skull. Perhaps it was the fact that he was looking at Zuko like _he'd_ been the one who had dropped his Uncle's board at least fifteen times. He didn't know what it was but before he could reconsider, try to talk himself out of it or even count to ten in his head, he'd pulled back his fist and punched Aang hard in the face.

He immediately regretted it.

Not because he was feeling particularly partial towards the younger boy but because the punch - instead of making Aang shut up - made him yell even louder. Zuko's temples throbbed dangerously and his jaw clenched as he listened to the younger boy's howl of pain.

Aang's hands shot up to his face and he nursed his nose, his eyes watering and gasps of pain spilling from his mouth. Zuko wasn't even sure whether he was exaggerating or not.

All he knew was that what he did next was even stupider than punching a house guest in the face. It was, quite possibly, even more stupid than letting Jet talk him into getting high or intentionally engaging Azula and her minions in an argument.

There was no comparison. It was just _that_ stupid.

Zuko could have exhausted all of his vocabulary trying to express how stupid it was. But he couldn't. Mostly, because it embarrassed him to think about it.

Because one second, Aang was whimpering in pain and the next, Zuko had wet a dishcloth, squeezed all the water out and pushed the younger boy's hands away from his face.

'Don't touch me.' Aang said but his voice was pained.

Under normal circumstances, Zuko would have done something very inhospitable to make him shut up but he didn't. Which only succeeded in making it even more embarrassing.

Instead, he grasped Aang's shoulders and pushed him back until he was forced to sit onto the table to remove the pressure from his tail-bone. However, the younger boy's butt had barely connected with the table when he placed his hands flat on the surface and slid back over the wood.

'I'm just trying to help, you ungrateful bastard!' Zuko yelled as Aang swung his legs around and jumped off the table. It would have been a rather commendable escape plan had he not tripped over his own feet as he landed.

Aang's legs crumpled underneath him and he fell. His face was mere inches from slamming against the marble counter when Zuko surged forward and grabbed Aang. He narrowly avoided falling on his face and instead, crashed into the counter. A sharp pain shot up his side.

'What the FUCK is wrong with you? Do you _want_ to break your nose?' Zuko yelled in Aang's face.

'Yeah, that's real smart. Worry about me breaking my nose AFTER you've broken it.' Aang hollered.

'I didn't break your nose, you asshole.' Zuko said loudly.

'Yes, you did. It's _bleeding_.' Aang said shrilly.

'No, I didn't. It would be hurting a lot more if I'd broken it,' Zuko said.

'You could at least apologize!' Aang yelled and it was only as the shout rang in his ear that Zuko registered the fact that the younger boy was leaning against him, his bony hands gripping Zuko's shoulders like his life depended on it.

'I would but I DIDN'T BREAK IT!' Zuko yelled as he managed to gather his wits long enough to rip Aang's hands away from him and shove him back.

He looked like he was about to retort but then, his foot caught in the leg of the table and he fell. Zuko winced as the younger boy's back collided with the ground and a sickening thud echoed throughout the kitchen.

Silence fell and for a ridiculous second, Zuko actually thought that Aang might be dead. But then, his eyes fluttered open and he exhaled sharply.

Muttering under his breath, Zuko knelt beside Aang and snatched up the cloth that had dropped to the ground during his fall. 'I didn't break your stupid nose.' Zuko said as he took the opportunity to dab tentatively at the blood smearing Aang's face.

'Yes, you did.' he retorted.

'It would have hurt a lot more if I'd actually broken it. It's probably just a fracture or nothing at all.' Zuko muttered as he wiped away the last of the blood, resisting the urge to press his wrist hard against Aang's nose just to prove a point.

'That's really reassuring, asshole.' he spat out angrily.

'Fuck you.' Zuko said as he set aside the cloth and heaved Aang into a sitting position.

'Get away from me.' Aang said as he elbowed Zuko hard in the ribs.

'Stop squirming.' he said loudly as he pulled out a chair and forced Aang into it. 'And lean forward a little. As much as I'd love it, I don't think that it would be particularly enjoyable for you if the blood went down your throat.' Zuko muttered as he washed the blood off the cloth and forced it into Aang's hand.

The younger boy glared at him before holding out his hand and squeezing the water out of the cloth and right onto Zuko's foot.

'You're such a fucking pain in the ass.' Zuko hissed before turning to the refrigerator and rummaging in it for an ice pack.

'Well, now you know what your Uncle must feel like when he has to deal with _you_ every summer.' Aang retorted, his voice coming out muffled from behind the cloth.

Zuko, who'd been in the middle of closing the fridge door, tensed upon Aang's words. There was a pause and then he turned to face him, his expression contorted with anger.

'You know _nothing_ about me or my Uncle. If you did, you'd know that he lets me stay here because he knows that my father is a fucking lunatic and that my sister is a bitch. Not everyone is a stingy, narrow-minded fucker like you.' Zuko said as he slammed the ice pack down onto the table.

There was a pause; then he turned on his heel and stormed out of the kitchen.

* * *

_Well, there you go._

_To **Invisible Firebender**: Nah, I use single quotes for dialogue. I don't intend to use double quotes for anything. Well, I used to but now I'm too lazy to reach for the shift key :P_

_Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews you guys! You have no idea how much they mean to me :] You're all awesome._

_I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. So, don't forget to review! _

_-Jade_


	4. Inconvenience Number 4

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCOVENIENCE NO. 4  
The Stupid Bag **

Aang sat there for nearly fifteen minutes, alternating between focusing on the throbbing in his nose and whether or not his words had really been that offending. It took him entirely three seconds to realize that, judging by Zuko's reaction, his words had been very offending.

Aang was sympathetic, he supposed. Being friends with Toph had showed him what a dysfunctional family could do to someone but he wasn't sorry for what he'd said. After all, he and Zuko were even now.

Sort of?

Aang faltered a bit but before he could brood anymore, the sound of the doorbell rang out through the house. There was a pause and then, he stood up; hastily wiping away the last of the blood and leaving the cloth on the table as he made his way out of the kitchen. However, Aang had barely reached the front door when he heard a slight thud behind him. He liked to believe that he didn't spin around in a rather panicked manner to come face to face with Zuko who was leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs.

'Did you invite someone?' he said flatly.

'No.' Aang ventured.

'Then it's not for you, is it?' Zuko said with a scowl.

'I thought you were busy so...' Aang began and despite himself, his fingers fiddled nervously with the hem of his shirt.

'How considerate.' Zuko spat out angrily. 'Now fuck off.'

Aang flinched at the venom in Zuko's voice and even though he knew that it was in the best interests of his survival to _move_ before the older boy descended from the stairs and decided to punch him some more, he didn't. He couldn't.

Aang wasn't exactly sure whether it was his pride keeping him or there, or his stubbornness, but he refused to move. Instead, he spoke.

_God._ How he wished he hadn't.

But the words were spilling out before he could even think to stop them.

'Look, I'm sorry for what I said but how was I supposed to know that you have a dysfunctional family?' Aang demanded.

There was a pause and the younger boy tried to ignore the heat rushing to his cheeks as he realized that he'd been just a little too loud in his nervousness.

'I spend the summer with my uncle.' Zuko said and Aang's jaw clenched with determination as the older boy began to descend from the stairs. 'What does that tell you?'

'I'm spending the summer here too! That doesn't mean anything.'

'Except the fact that you don't have a family.' Zuko said and glared at the door as someone thundered on it.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Aang said sharply.

'It means don't try to pretend like you know what someone else is going through when you don't even have a family.'

'That's low.' Aang said, his voice cold. 'Even for you.' Another series of knocks, this time louder, echoed throughout the house.

'What's _that_ supposed to mean?' Zuko countered and Aang silently prided himself on the fact that he didn't even flinch as the older boy reached the foot of the stairs.

'Is this your way of feeling better? Telling me that people hate me? Punching me?' Aang said through gritted teeth.

By now, the person on the other side of the door was thundering on it and Aang could hear a voice on the other side.

'Maybe it is.' Zuko countered with a smirk.

'And you call me a loser,' Aang said and before another word could be said, he spun on his heel and threw open the front door. 'What?' he snapped.

'Wow, Twinkles. Emo-boy getting to you already?' Toph said, an amused smirk on her lips.

Aang threw one last glare over his shoulder before stepping out of the house and slamming the door shut behind him. On the pavement stood a short girl, dressed in loose cargo pants and a tank top. A messenger bag was slung over one shoulder and her converse shoes looked like they were about to fall to pieces. 'Hi, Toph. Did you need something?'

'Twinkles! Blowing me off? And here I thought I would never even live to see the day!' Toph said.

Aang swiftly smothered the twinge of annoyance at the edge of his conscience. 'I'm serious.' he said quietly.

'So am I. We need to write this down, Aang. Do something. Have a par-' Toph began but swiftly cut herself off as her eyes widened. 'What the hell happened to your face, Twinkles?'

'I fell.' he said shortly.

'Where'd you fall from? And how_ hard_?' Toph said in amazement as she leaned forward to look at his face.

'Um, pretty hard. I fell down the stairs.' Aang ventured.

'Unless you deliberately threw yourself off the stairs and then smashed your face into the banister a few times, I don't think you got that from a fall, Twinkles.' Toph said shrewdly.

There was a pause and Aang shuffled nervously. 'Did he punch you?' she cried.

Aang looked up and promptly reared back as he saw the grin on Toph's face. 'Oh God. I need to go congratulate him. He made our Twinkles a man! Let me meet him!' she demanded.

'You're supposed to be _my_ friend!' Aang declared in an affronted manner.

'Screw that. If he punched you, he easily qualifies as awesome.' she said before shoving Aang clean aside with one shove and marching up to the house.

'Come on, Toph. You don't want to do that. He's not even my friend and he doesn't like me very much. He might get...I dunno, offended?' Aang pleaded as he ran after her.

'Jeez, Twinkles. Not everyone's a girl like you,' Toph said.

'Come on, Toph. Please! For me!' Aang yelled as she threw open the front door and marched into the house.

'Zuko! ZUKO!' Toph yelled as she poked her head into the kitchen before thundering up the stairs.

'Toph!' Aang said weakly but Toph was succeeding quite spectacularly at an imitation of a deaf person.

Aang would have liked to believe that his protests got more vehement as they neared Zuko's room, but the fact was, they died down and by the time, Toph threw open the door, he was completely silent.

'There you are!' Toph said as if she had known Zuko for years.

Aang frowned as he peeked over Toph's shoulder into the room. 'What's up, emo-boy?' she said brightly, stepping into the room and pulling Aang in with her.

'Do I know you?' Zuko asked from where he was sitting at his desk, laptop screen propped open. His eyebrows were raised.

'Nope but I'm here to congratulate on finally initiating Aang into the circle of manliness.' Toph said.

'What?' Zuko snapped, his brows furrowing with confusion.

'You punched him, didn't you?' Toph said and Aang glared at the back of her head as Zuko turned to stare at him, the older boy's jaw clenched with irritation.

'Yes, he did but-' the younger boy began.

'What are you, eight?' Zuko said as he glared at him. 'If someone punches you, you punch them back. You don't go complaining to your girlfriend.'

'You're the one who was mothering over me once you did punch me!' Aang retorted sharply.

'Maybe that's because I felt sorry. You can rest assured that it doesn't even compare to how sorry I am that I even bothered.' Zuko spat out angrily.

An abrupt silence followed his words and for several minutes, no one moved. Then:

'So, Snoozle's having a party next week. Wanna come?' she said to Zuko.

There was a pause and then, he turned to her with a scowl. 'I am not even going to ask who Snoozles is.' he said quietly.

'That'd be Sokka. You have Chemistry with him.' Toph said.

'Why the hell would I go to _his_ party? I don't know him.' Zuko said before shifting his gaze back to the screen of his laptop.

'Yeah, but you know Aang.' Toph said as she dropped her bag onto the foldup bed and positioned herself onto it, cross-legged.

Zuko's lips twitched into a smirk and his eyes flickered over to Aang before returning to the screen. 'You're insane.' he stated flatly.

'Well, fine then. But I can guarantee that you'll be at that party.' Toph said.

'Yep, because me and Aang are the bestest of buddies.' Zuko said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

'Toph, let's just go.' Aang said as he glared at Zuko.

'Well, don't believe me. But you'll see. Aang won me over, he could win you over any day. It's what he does. Blabbering until people surrender and talk to him just for the sake of making him go away. He's an expert.' Toph said brightly.

'Thanks, Toph. You're the _best_.' Aang said through gritted teeth.

'He couldn't win me over even if I wanted to be won over.' Zuko said with narrowed eyes.

'Which actually changes everything, you see. You don't want to be won over, meaning that you'll hate Aang even more when he starts trying..'

'Which I'm not going to do...' Aang muttered.

'So, you'll get so annoyed that in the end, you'll make peace with him just for the sake of your sanity. It's how we became friends, right, Twinkles?' Toph said and Aang winced as she punched him hard in the arm.

'That's a nice story. Now get out.' Zuko said, his eyes not moving from the screen.

'Wow.' was all Toph said as she stood up and sauntered over to Zuko's table.

'Toph.' Aang said warningly.

However, instead of kicking Zuko in the shin - as Aang had been expecting - she merely shot him a contemplative look before turning to Aang and smiling brightly. 'Let's get outta here, Twinkles.'

'Yeah...' Aang said as he lead her out of the room.

'See you around.' she called out just before Aang slammed the door shut.

* * *

Nearly twenty minutes later, Aang and Toph were sitting on a rickety bench in Iroh's backyard; two cokes and a large bag of Doritos sitting in between them.

'I can't believe you!' Aang exclaimed. 'Why would you invite HIM to Sokka's party? And when were you going to plan on telling me about it?'

'Done?' Toph asked through a mouthful of chips.

'NO!' Aang said.

'Go on then.'

There was a pause and then, Aang sighed. 'What?'

'You might die if I say it out loud.'

'Toph.' Aang said tiredly. 'Can you please just stop already?'

'Fine, Twinkles. But only because you sound extra pathetic today.'

'Thanks.' Aang muttered darkly.

'So, want me to say it?' Toph asked, a little too politely.

'Not really.' Aang said. 'But-.'

'Two normal guys are rarely that passionate about anything.' Toph said flatly.

'And?' Aang asked.

'Figure it out or do you want me to get Suki to spill one of her love quotes on you?' Toph said with a roll of her eyes.

'_Love_ quotes?' Aang exclaimed and was on the other side of the bench in an instant. 'What are you talking about?' he demanded.

'Jeez, it does make people more stupid.' Toph said as she leaned back on the bench and scratched the back of her neck.

'What? What's _it_?' Aang said, unnerved.

'Love, Twinkles. Limerence. Infatuation. Whatever you want to call it.' Toph said as she popped some more chips into her mouth.

'I'm not in love. Who would I be in love with?' Aang marveled, a confused grin dawning on his face.

'I don't know. Zuko, maybe.' Toph said with a bright grin.

'Oh, of course, I'm in love with _Zuko_.' Aang said with a chuckle.

'You two sound just like a married couple when you fight. It's even worse than Katara PMSing.' Toph said as Aang stood up and snatched up his coke. 'Two normal guys don't sound like that.'

'Toph, I thought it was Sokka's turn to get picked on.'

'It's always Sokka's turn to get picked on. But that's not the point. The point is that you aren't taking me very seriously.' Toph said. She gathered up the bag of Doritos and her coke before jogging after Aang who was halfway through the back door.

'Toph, I don't do this very often but if you don't stop, I won't ask Teo to let us see his video game collection.' Aang stated flatly.

There was a pause and then Toph groaned. 'Fine. If you insist on being boring.' she said as they made their way into the kitchen through the back door. 'Anyway, Twinkles, I went to Miyako's shop the other day, turned out she was selling copies of NFS: Hot Pursuit. Teo is going to die next time I see him. He was supposed to tell us!'

'Do you have it now?' Aang asked brightly.

'Honestly, Twinkles. Do you ever stop with the stupid questions. Of course, I have it!' Toph said exasperatedly.

'Where?' Aang said as he dropped his can into the trash can and turned to Toph.

'In my bag. Speaking of which, where _did_ it go?' she wondered, a little too enthusiastically.

'I think you left it upstairs.' Aang said as he stared at her through the corner of his eye.

'Well... get it for me,' Toph said brightly.

There was a pause and then, Aang's brow furrowed in puzzlement as he stared at Toph. She responded with an innocent smile. 'Okay, then.' he said.

Aang made his way out of the kitchen, throwing one last glance at Toph before trudging up the stairs. Upon reaching the landing, he was too focused on whether he should wait for Zuko to go to the bathroom and then get the bag or just go and get it, to hear the sounds coming from inside the room. Aang decided on the latter and pushed open the door.

That particular incident made Aang wish that Gyatso had taught him to knock before entering someone else's room. He wished Katara had said it a few hundred times more. He wished he had enough sense to listen at the door before entering. If he had, he would have heard.

And Aang would have preferred hearing it over seeing it. It would have prevented a lot of disconcerting events later on. In fact, Aang would even go far as to say that, had that particular incident not taken place, his life would have been different. But it happened.

It took Aang's eyes a few moments to adjust to the dimness of the room. He wished it had taken longer. At least, it would have given them some time to just fucking _stop_ what they were doing but they didn't. Instead, once the light flooded in through the landing, Aang found himself staring at a rather flushed Zuko perched on his laptop desk; hair tousled and head thrown back with his hand clutching a shoulder that seemed a little too broad to belong to a girl.

Aang didn't just watch it happening. He drank it in, he heard the gasps and moans spilling from Zuko's mouths; sounds that sounded so utterly absurd spilling from the older boy's mouth that for some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away from his dazed expression.

Aang didn't know avidly he'd been staring at Zuko, perhaps a little _too_ avidly because it took him a few seconds to register the fact that one moment, he'd been rooted in his place and the next, someone had slammed the door in his face. Very, very literally. Aang sensed more than felt the bone crack and then the blood was gushing down his face and tears were spilling from his eyes as he doubled over in the hallway.

Through the cloud of pain obscuring his mind, Aang managed to pull away from the carpet before any more blood could drip on it.

And then he was running. He barely made it two feet before he felt someone's hand graze his shoulder.

Aang wasn't sure if it was the person that pushed him or if it was just a reflex action to shy away from the touch when his nose and head were pounding, but then, his foot caught in something and he fell.

His face connected solidly with the floor and the last thing he heard before passing out from the pain was the sound of his name.

* * *

_Well, there you go!  
Thank you soo much for all the reviews, you guys! I know its probably getting old but you guys are still utterly awesome! I demand that you do not stop! :D  
_

_Oh and hurray for 'Once Upon A Play' on reaching 100 favorites! YAY! :D_

_Don't forget to review! Hopefully the next chapter will be up by next Friday :]_

_-Jade_


	5. Inconvenience Number 5

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCONVENIENCE NO. 5  
The Silence**

Aang didn't know how long he'd been out for but by the time he woke up, he could sense someone's presence beside him. His back was resting against the wall and he could feel the softness of a cushion against his head. A firm hand on his forearm was preventing him for slumping onto the ground and an icepack was being pressed to his nose.

'Finally... He's awake!' the person yelled and Aang winced, the loud sound making his head hurt. 'Oh, sorry.'

Aang tried to speak and ask the person where he was or how badly his nose was swollen, but the throbbing in his nose made the prospect of speaking seem too daunting. Instead, Aang just made a disgruntled noise and the person chuckled. Aang grunted again. 'Sorry, not funny.' the person said and sat back on their haunches.

By now, Aang could tell that the person was a boy, not much older than him judging by his voice and vaguely familiar. He wanted to maneuvre his face into a questioning expression, to ask the boy who he was but then the doorbell rang. The sound of the door opening drifted up the stairs and was promptly punctuated by hysterical shouts. Aang tried not to groan as the voices drifted closer and a group of people burst into the hallway.

'-broke his nose? WHERE IS HE?' a girl demanded.

'Hey, Katara.' The boy said lightly.

'Don't HEY me, Jet! I am going to KILL you!' Katara yelled. 'If you dare to tell me that your car isn't here right now, I am going to break your face. I don't care if you have to walk over to your house and get that stupid ride of yours, you get it here RIGHT NOW AND TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL!'

'Katara, I sold-' Jet began.

'Oh, no. Don't you dare tell me that you sold it because I-'

'Sugar Queen, I already called Suki and told her to bring her car.' Toph said sharply.

There was a pause and then, Katara huffed and began to stomp towards Aang. 'Oh, Aang.' she muttered softly. She shot Jet a filthy look as she snatched the ice pack from his hand and gently applied it to his face.

'How did it happen?' Sokka asked, his tone quipped.

Aang swallowed and his and Jet's eyes met as the older boy opened his mouth to answer. However, he had barely uttered a word when another voice rang out through the hallway. 'That's none of your fucking business.' Zuko said coldly

'You break my friend's nose and it's none of _my_ business?' Sokka said in disbelief. 'You better hope he gets better soon else I-'

'Sokka.' Toph said firmly and he fell silent with a sharp exhale.

'Fuck you.' Sokka said and Aang's head shot up in surprise. However, Sokka was not staring at Toph, but Zuko.

Zuko did not reply. Instead, his eyes flickered over to Aang and if anything, his scowl deepened. 'Maybe he should learn to knock before going into someone's room.'

'As far as I know, you two are sharing. It's just as much his room as it is yours.' Katara said sharply.

'Maybe you should lock the door before doing whatever it is that you do in there, asshole.' Sokka muttered.

Even from across the room, Aang saw Zuko's shoulders tense and his jaw clench with anger. 'Get out.'

'We're not going anywhere until Suki gets here.' Sokka said.

'I think we know better than to leave him alone with you two again.' Katara said disdainfully.

There was a pause and Aang looked at Zuko through the corner of his eye. 'I'll take him to the hospital.' he said coldly.

Sokka snorted decisively. 'Yeah ri-'

'I _said_, I'll take him to the hospital.' Zuko repeated, his voice even.

'No, you won't.' Katara said forcefully.

'I'll go with him, Sugar Queen.' Toph said evenly. 'I think me and Zuko need to have a little talk. You're coming too.' she said to Jet.

He paused, as if thinking, but Toph's expression must have told him that she wasn't in the mood to consider any objections; reasonable or otherwise. 'Fine.' Zuko said and turned on his heel and stormed down the stairs.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was painful. Each bump shot a searing pain through Aang's face and he was afraid that if he bit his lip any harder, it would start to bleed. However, the ride to the hospital was even more painful. It took all of Aang's willpower not to cry and his eyes did not move away from the wall even once as the doctor examined his nose. He sat quietly through the x-ray and it was only once the doctor told him that it was merely a fracture that his head at once shot up to glare at Zuko who was leaning against the doorway.

The older boy stared back silently but after a second, his eyes flickered away. They got the painkillers, got Jet and Toph who were sitting in the waiting room glaring at each other and then made their way to the car. But before Zuko could even unlock the car, Toph slid in between the door and him.

'What?' Zuko snapped.

'I need to talk to you.' she said unsmilingly.

'Toph...' Aang muttered.

'Shut up, Twinkles.' she said sharply.

'I don't want to talk to you.' Zuko said.

'I wasn't asking. Give the keys to your friend and he can drive Aang home.' Toph said.

Silence reigned over them for several seconds before Zuko's jaw clenched and he flung the keys at Jet.

'Don't take him in until I get there.' Zuko said before staring pointedly at Toph until she pushed herself away from the car and led him off.

'Have fun.' Jet called after them. Aang didn't need to look at him to know that he was smirking.

* * *

To say that the ride home wasn't awkward would have been a lie, and a stupid one at that. In the fifteen minutes that it took them to get to Iroh's, Aang tried to ignore the sound of Jet tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and the way the older boy's flickered towards him every few seconds. But it became a little hard to ignore him once he started talking.

'So...' he started lightly.

'I'm not going to tell anyone. In fact, I'm never even going to think about it.' Aang said, his eyes fixed on the streetlights flashing past.

'I was just going to apologize for breaking your nose but if you're interested in talking about that...'

'No! I'm not. I'm not interested in talking. About anything.'

Aang swallowed nervously but Jet was already chuckling. 'Relax, would you?'

'You broke my nose. I'm not going to relax.' Aang said firmly.

'I didn't break your nose. It's just a fracture and I already said I'm sorry. And we both know that this isn't about your nose.'

'Wow, you must feel really smart.' Aang said sourly.

Jet merely shook his head, a small smirk playing on his lips. 'Look, Aang. I think you're old enough to know what fuck buddies are.'

'Don't...' Aang said sharply. '...patronize me.'

'Well, stop acting like a child.' Jet said flatly. 'You saw me with Zuko. Is that honestly such a big deal? Or are you just freaking out because we're both guys?' When Aang did not reply, Jet continued with a sigh. 'Look, I'm just trying to help you. Or would you rather have this conversation with Zuko?' Jet said with a derisive snort.

'Oh look, we're home.' Aang said.

'Fine, don't talk then.' Jet said as he pulled over and slammed his foot down onto the brake.

The seatbelt dug into Aang's skin as he lurched forward. He swallowed as he realized that his face was mere inches from the dashboard and just the thought of how much it would have hurt had it connected, made his nose tingle. He turned to glare at Jet but the older boy had already reached into the backseat and dropped Aang's medicine into his hand. He turned off the engine and the two got out of the car.

'See you later.' he said as he locked the car and flung the keys at Aang.

'I hope not.'

Jet did not reply and the two glared at each other one last time before Jet pulled his jacket snug around him and walked down the side-walk. Aang pocketed Zuko's keys and silently made his way towards the house.

He was distinctly aware of Jet's eyes on him as he walked and it took all of his restraint not to fidget or throw a glance over his shoulder to see if he was being paranoid or if the older boy really was staring at him. It was only once Aang had reached the front door that he realized, with some detachment that - for the first time ever - he'd made an enemy.

Aang had _almost_ gotten along with Zuko before the older boy had made that comment but Jet was different. From the moment Aang had laid eyes on him - which had actually been three years earlier - he had disliked the permanent smirk on his face and the shift in his eyes each time he looked at someone new. As if he crafted one particular expression for Sokka and another different one for Katara. But the most unnerving of all his looks was the one he reserved for Zuko. It made Aang wonder how the older boy could even look Jet in the face without feeling like he was being devoured.

A cat yowled nearby and the medicine slipped from Aang's fingers as he jumped. He frowned and his eyes stared unseeingly into the night. It was a moment before he realized that he could see two figures materializing in the dark. They drew nearer and the height difference made it easy to tell that it was Toph and Zuko. Aang waited patiently as they came down the side-walk, Zuko walking swiftly while Toph sauntered a few steps behind him.

'Hey there, Twinkles.' Toph said brightly.

'Hey Toph.' Aang said.

'And Zuko.' she said pointedly.

'And Zuko.' Aang said slowly.

'How's the nose?' she asked sweetly.

'Better... I think.' Aang said as he stared at Zuko through the corner of his eye. 'Where did you two go?'

'For a milkshake. Me and Zuko were mending our friendship.' Toph said and Aang noticed Zuko glaring at her. 'Well, I gotta go then.'

'Did you get your bag?' Aang asked.

Toph laughed. 'Yep, I did. Go get some sleep. Later.' She said and before Aang could make an excuse to leave before she did and wiggle his way out of an isolated encounter with Zuko – she turned and walked off down the street. A second passed and then, Aang turned to pick up the medicine; only to have Zuko hold it out in front of his face. He took it and unsure of what to say, merely nodded.

A few seconds passed before Aang registered Zuko's pointed look and hastily handed the older boy his keys. Aang bit down on his tongue and waited as Zuko sifted through the keys, picked out the one for the front door and unlocked it.

* * *

The rest of the night was a silent process. A very silent process. All Aang could do to prevent himself from talking and instigating another fight was take his medication, wrap an ice pack in a cloth and press it to his nose as he lounged on the couch in the living room. He drifted in and out of sleep but somewhere in the middle, he noticed that Iroh still wasn't home. The clock struck nine. Zuko came and unsmilingly shook his shoulder, indicating for him to go and sleep.

That night, Zuko took care to be quiet as he entered the room and set Aang's morning medication along with a water bottle beside his pillow. He pretended not to notice the light reflecting in Aang's open eyes but the younger boy could tell from the sudden force with which Zuko pulled the ice pack from his hand and pushed another one into it - as if he felt a need to prove himself to someone - that he knew Aang was awake.

That night, Zuko changed in the bathroom for some reason.

* * *

_Well, there you go!  
Sorry for the tiny delay but...I wonder if anyone would believe me if I told them that I had writer's block :P  
I know there's not much about Aang, Jet or Zuko's reactions to what happened but we'll get to that in the next chapter, once Aang gets over the painkillers. In the meantime, Zuko [and I] shall figure out how to react :P_

_To newXmoonXfox: Nah, feel free to call me whatever color you want :P  
Aangis12: Aw, thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you! :D _

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for all the reviews C: I really really appreciate them ^_^  
So, don't forget to review._

_Hopefully, I'll update in a week or two, or half. :D_

_-Jade/Cerise _


	6. Inconvenience Number 6

**Genre:** Humor/Romance**  
Pairings:** ZukoxAang etc.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.  
**Summary:** 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.

* * *

**INCONVENIENCE NO. 6  
The Incensing **

The next morning, Aang was awake at dawn. It had been a long time since he'd gotten up so early and even though his eyelids drooped, the moment he brought the comforter up to his chin and curled up under it, the pain in his nose was the only thing he could concentrate on. So, for the next four hours, Aang alternated between sitting up and lying down and... watching Zuko sleep.

Admittedly, he spent most of his time watching Zuko sleep. But that was only because he was the only remotely interesting thing in the room. Aside from the laptop desk, of course, which Aang found himself staring at every few minutes. Just looking at it made him feel odd, like a hand had gripped his stomach and was clenching it for all it was worth. Aang fought down the absurd feeling - a mixture of nausea and utter dazedness - and focused on breathing in and out.

Once he was sure that he didn't feel sick anymore, his gaze returned to Zuko. Aang had never been much of a homophobic person. Gyatso had taught him to be accepting. Well, he'd never brought up _this_ issue explicitly, but Aang had gotten the general gist from his little bits and pieces of elderly wisdom. And he'd understood. He hadn't been homophobic.

And he _wasn't_.

Except, he might be.

Because every time he thought about Zuko and Jet, he wanted to throw up. It had occured to him - around seven in the morning - that maybe it was a side-effect of having a broken nose. Maybe he was in shock. Or maybe the blood had gone down his throat and his body wanted to throw it all up but didn't have anything_ to_throw up. But then, he should have been dry heaving.

Or maybe, just maybe, what Toph had said coupled with the sight of Jet kneeling in front of Zuko had rolled together into one big ball of disgusting to keep him up in the most ridiculous hours of the morning.

Another few minutes and Aang decided that that couldn't be right either because he hadn't felt anything when Toph had talked to him in the yard the day before. He'd been confused, he supposed, but not surprised since Toph had a habit of saying rather inconvenient things about him with... other people.

In the end, Aang gave up and groped under his pillow for the medicine. His fingers had just grazed against the leaf of tablets when a loud beep echoed throughout the room. Followed by another beep. And another. Until Aang realized that it was an alarm. Zuko's alarm.

He didn't pause to wonder why Zuko would have set an alarm for nine in the morning and instead shuffled to the end of his bed and stretched his hand as far as it would go. Which was actually pretty far since there wasn't much room between his bed and Zuko's. His fingers were mere centimetres away from the button when another hand slammed down on his own.

'OW!' Aang exclaimed, more out of shock than actual pain.

'Wha-umph...' Zuko said as he rolled over onto his back. Aang held his breath as the older boy wiggled his legs a little, muttered something unintelligible and promptly fell back asleep.

A few moments passed before Aang realized that Zuko probably wasn't about to wake up any time soon. Under normal circumstances, he would have been perfectly fine with that arrangement. Except now, he was virtually dangling in between the two beds with his hand trapped under Zuko's rather heavy - and limp - arm.

Aang breathed out slowly, heat rushing to his cheeks as the older boy shifted and his fingers grazed against the underside of Aang's palm. His grey eyes flickered to Zuko's face and he felt a pleasant tingle shoot up his arm as the older boy's fingers slid over his palm again. Aang swallowed nervously, acutely aware of the fact that his face was now burning.

He sucked in a great breath and once he was sure that his heart wasn't beating so fast any more, Aang wiggled his fingers. Zuko did not move and with a pleased smile, he proceeded to place his free arm on the floor to support himself as he slowly began to slide his hand out from under the older boy's.

Aang's hand was halfway through and the feeling began to return to it.

But then, the beeping was echoing throughout the room again, seeming louder this time

Zuko groaned. Aang's eyes flickered to the clock. 9:08 AM.

The younger boy struggled to reach for the snooze button, but his fingers were trapped underneath Zuko's palm now and no matter how much he stretched them, he couldn't manage to find the button.

9:09 AM. The younger boy distinctly wondered how Zuko could even sleep in so much noise. Aang was sure that anyone could have heard his heart pounding in his chest.

9:10 AM. Aang wanted to reach over with his free arm, wrench Zuko's hand off his and fling the alarm clock as hard as he could out the window. But his free arm was the only thing preventing him from falling, Zuko's hand was heavy and the windows were made of tempered glass.

Aang's eyes flickered from the clock to Zuko's face and he immediately wiped the panicked expression off his face as his eyes met the older boy's.

'What are you doing?' Zuko asked blearily.

'Leaning over to give you a kiss.' Aang snapped but the sarcasm was lost, as halfway through the sentence he realized the sheer stupidity of his words.

There was a moment of silence and Aang thought he saw Zuko's cheeks redden. But he couldn't have been sure because then, the older boy lifted his hand off his and the feeling rushed back into it.

Aang rolled over onto his back on the bed and turned his head to look at Zuko who was sitting up.

'You were supposed to take your medicine twelve minutes ago.' he muttered.

'I know. Your stupid alarm distracted me.' Aang said quietly.

'That was kind of the point.' Zuko said with a frown.

'For it to distract me?' Aang echoed sharply.

'For it to wake me up so that I could remind you to take your medicine.' Zuko said tiredly.

Aang's eyebrows rose as he looked at the older boy. 'Oh.'

He was glad that Zuko left it at that and watched in silence as the older boy, instead of rolling over to go back to sleep, heaved himself out of bed.

'Where're you going?' Aang asked before he could stop himself.

'Bathroom. Want to come?' Zuko said.

'Ha. Ha.' Aang said dryly as he reached under his pillow for the medicine. The door to the bathroom clicked shut and he downed the medicine and set the water bottle aside.

Zuko spent a good twenty minutes in the bathroom after that - a detail that Aang only noticed because the digital clock had shifted under his hand and was now facing his way.

It was only once Zuko stepped out from the bathroom, clad in jeans and a t-shirt with his hair looking relatively neater, that Aang spoke. 'Did Toph tell you to be nice to me?'

Zuko did not reply, his movements measured as he turned his back to him and began to fold his comforter.

'She did, didn't she?' Aang said, unable to keep the resentment out of his voice. His fingers absently tightened around his comforter and he felt a surge of anger as he looked at the back of Zuko's head. 'You could at least reply.' he snapped.

'What exactly is it that you want to hear? That we're going to be best friends or something? Don't fall for whatever crap your friend tells you.' Zuko said curtly.

'No, I think you're afraid that I'm going to tell someone about you and Jet.' Aang said.

His words were met with silence and had it not been for the look of utter rage that flitted across Zuko's face, Aang would have suspected that the older boy hadn't even heard him.

'Don't fuck with stuff you don't understand. Jet broke your nose, I'm not saying that I'm apologizing for him but I am sorry that he did it. But if you're going to go around ratting me out to everyone you can find, then go ahead. I've had worse.' Zuko said viciously.

Aang stared at the older boy and despite himself, his jaw went slack. 'You seriously think I would tell someone...' he said slowly.

'Wouldn't you?' Zuko retorted sharply.

'_No_, of course not!' Aang burst out indignantly. 'Why would I ever tell anyone!' he asked and Aang saw something shift in Zuko's eyes.

The younger boy opened his mouth to say something - perhaps to tell the older boy just how ridiculously wrong his impressed of him was, or to reassure him that even if he had broken his nose in the kitchen he wouldn't even have considered telling anyone - but Zuko had already turned on his heel and stormed into the hallway.

* * *

That afternoon showed Aang just how boring it was to be holed up in a room all day. He tried calling Toph but she made it clear that she wasn't going to talk to him since she thought that every second he spent talking to her was a second wasted. He tried Sokka too but he mostly seemed intent on expressing his anger at Zuko and Jet for ten minutes flat before asking Aang if he was alright and then continuing.

Once he hung up on Sokka, Aang was halfway through dialing Katara's number when it occurred to him that that would most definitely be worse than calling Sokka. Ultimately, he ended up severely bored and hungry with a dead cell phone.

Finally, at eleven, Aang was forced to get up and go down the stairs into the kitchen. Almost a day and a half had passed since he'd arrived at Iroh's house but other than the game of Pai Sho, he'd received no other indication that he was welcome there. Aang was just in the middle of contemplating whether that entailed being able to rummage in the refrigerator for his own food when the kitchen door swung open and he froze.

'Good morning, Aang.' Iroh said lightly.

'Morning, Iroh.' he said, furiously wondering whether or not Zuko had mentioned anything about telling Iroh about his nose. The thought didn't last very long. He was sure that it would be a long time, if ever, before he and the older boy would conspire about lying to _anyone_, much less his Uncle.

'It's a beautiful day,' Iroh remarked as he poured himself a cup of tea.

'Yep, really pretty.' Aang said, not sure whether it was good or not that he and Iroh were conversing about the weather. 'I'm tired though. I don't think I'll be going anywhere today.' he added for good measure.

'That's a pity. I ought to tell Zuko to invite his friends here rather than at the park so that you two can get to know each other better.' Iroh said.

It took all of Aang's restraint not to snort and his voice was slightly choked as he spoke. 'Don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll be just fine.' he said, his fingers tightening around the counter as Iroh's reflection, in the window, gazed contemplatively at him. 'Are you feeling alright, Aang?'

There was a pause and then, he reminded himself to shrug. 'Yeah, I'm great.' Aang said with a nervous grin directed at no one in particular.

'Are you quite sure? You don't seem very eager to face me. My father was actually quite the disciplinarian in his youth and it was considered rude not to face someone with whom you were conversing.' Iroh said.

There was a pause and he was certain that he was about to freeze. But then, the kitchen door swung open and Aang saw Zuko's reflection enter, looking ruffled. 'When did you install sprinklers?' Zuko demanded grumpily.

'Two months ago.' Iroh said as he inclined his head, a smile on his lips. 'I'm certain I told you, nephew.'

'No, no, you didn't.' Zuko said as he shook the water out of his hair and glared at Iroh through the strands.

Aang silently watched him, wondering if his clothes really blended in so well with the granite that Zuko seemed to be unable to notice him standing there. It was a moment before Aang realized that Iroh seemed to have reached the same conclusion and that his gaze was darting from Zuko to him.

'Did you get that teapot yesterday?' Zuko said as he made his way towards the sink.

'Oh yes. Miyako was endearingly civil about it.' Iroh said with a chuckle.

'Of course she was.' Zuko said with a snort. There was a short silence as he washed his hands and Aang could feel himself beginning to panic as Iroh made his way towards the refrigerator, mere inches from him. He turned a little too abruptly to the side and Zuko must have noticed his panicked expression because his lips curved into a faint smirk as he fished in the cabinet for an unopened box of cereal. 'So, do you prefer Count Chocula or Coco Pops?' It was only once Zuko turned to him that he realized that the older boy was talking to him. It took him a shorter time to detect the underlying jibe.

'Neither.' Aang said through gritted teeth. He glared at Zuko one last time before throwing a glance at Iroh and then hurriedly sidling out of the kitchen. He barely made it to the staircase before Zuko's hand clamped painfully around his wrist and he found himself sandwiched between the older boy and the banister. He couldn't bring himself to decide whether he should focus on trying to keep his nose as far away from Zuko or tell him to stop pushing him. He would have held desperately onto those thoughts to try and distract himself from the fact that Zuko's face was mere inches from his but then, the older boy's hand shifted against his wrist and he felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

He wasn't sure what Zuko deduced from that particular blush, but when his golden eyes flickered cautiously to Aang's navel, the younger boy felt a surge of anger and embarrassment; the kind which made him say and do stupid things. 'Are you ogling me?' Aang blurted out before he could stop himself.

'Excuse me?' Zuko asked, his eyes wide.

'You heard me.' Aang surprised himself with how haughty he sounded even though his cheeks were crimson with embarrassment. 'Is your ego honestly big enough to make you think that any boy you touch is automatically going to get an erection?' Aang said.

'_What_?' Zuko said and he actually pulled away to stare at Aang. Stare, not glare.

The younger boy felt another surge of rage and his eyes narrowed as he glared back at Zuko. All the unfairness of the past two days, having to share a room, having a door slam into his face, making enemies with people who made cruel adversaries - Aang realized that he could barely survive two days without Gyatso. The thought wasn't just depressing, it was infuriating. And it made the words spill out of Aang's mouth before he could even think to stop them.

'Well, screw you.' Aang said loudly, despite the fact that only a few steps would enable Iroh to hear them. 'You can have whatever fun you want with Jet but I'd appreciate it if you didn't think that I get off on seeing you getting a bl-' Aang said. The rest of his words, however, came out as nothing more than a vague _mmph_ as Zuko's hand roughly latched onto his jaw.

'What the hell is wrong with you?' Zuko demanded in a hushed whisper. 'You said you wouldn't tell anyone!'

'Well, maybe, I lied. I don't see any reason to be civil with you since the only good you've done for me since I got here is getting me an ice pack and setting an alarm for nine in the morning. Well, congratulations, Zuko, that makes everything alright. Including the fact that your boyfriend fractured my nose!' Aang hissed through gritted teeth.

'Fuck you and your sensitivities.' Zuko growled. 'If there's anyone to blame, its you. If you had ever learned to knock before going into someone's room, this wouldn't even have happened in the first place.'

'You sure, Zuko? Because I'm pretty sure that even a deaf person living ten blocks away could have heard you moaning.' Aang spat out and despite the fact that anger was currently making him feel rather brave, he still clenched his eyes shut and braced himself for the blow.

It never came. Instead, it was Zuko's warm breath against his face that made him open his eyes. Aang waited two minutes for a reaction but other than a faint blush on Zuko's cheeks, there was no indication that the older boy had even heard what he'd said.

Aang, however, believed that it was a day and a half of experiencing Zuko's reactions that saved him from a completely broken nasal cartilage. Unfortunately, it never did manage to save him from happened after.

Because what transpired next, did so with such swiftness that Aang was left wondering whose fault it was. Because he never saw Zuko lose his balance. And he most certainly didn't see the older boy tipping forward. And more than anything else, he never imagined himself actually gearing up to knee Zuko in the crotch.

But it happened.

Zuko's fist shot towards the younger boy's solar plexus. Aang managed to react fast enough so that it was his arms that suffered the full force of the blow. His arms - which then slammed into his stomach, thereby making it hurt even more than Zuko had probably intended. The breath left his lungs and he was left reeling. The disorientation lasted only for a second though.

The next blow was aimed at his face, which Aang thought was rather unsavoury of Zuko considering that his nose was already fractured. It was mainly the thought of the pain which prompted Aang to crane his neck to the side, causing Zuko's fist to collide with the wall.

Under normal circumstances, which hadn't presented themselves even once in the past two days, Aang was a pacifist. He didn't believe in hitting people, which was probably why he was the one with the fractured nose, being assaulted. But the current situation was making it a little hard to stop himself from doing something.

All he knew was that his intention had been to knee Zuko in the crotch, shove him off and then run like hell to Toph's house. The height difference, however, made it a little difficult and Aang was not open to the idea of kicking, mostly because he didn't want to rupture something and at length, murder Zuko's sex life.

Aang stumbled one step up, grasped tightly onto Zuko's shoulders and pulled him as hard as he could towards himself. The older boy tipped forward and it took Aang less than a second to realize that he'd made a mistake. Because then, Zuko's weight was pushing him down and his back slammed hard enough against the wall to knock the breath out of his lungs.

His vision swam, Zuko slammed into him and then his face was looming a little too close.

The only thing that registered to Aang was that he kneed Zuko in the crotch six seconds after the older boy's lips crashed against his in a bruising kiss.

* * *

_Well, there you go. Thankfully, this chapter wasn't as hard to write as the last.  
Sorry if the ending might be a little unclear but that shall be explained in the next chapter :P_

___To **newXmoonXfox**: Nah, take your time with Noah :] That project is kind of on hold right now. Can't handle it with fanfiction, school and basketball x_x Thanks though :D_  


_Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews, you all ^_^_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to review! :D If we're lucky, we can reach 50 this chapter. *winkwink*_

_-Jade/Cerise _


	7. IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL READERS

**TO ALL READERS OF JADE258's WORK THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND CONCERNS HER AND HER WRITING**

This is her friend and fellow writer as some of you may know me, **newXmoonXfox**. Jade's country has **BANNED** and **BLOCKED** this website, making it impossible for her to continue posting her writing here. However, she now has a **LIVEJOURNAL** account by the name of **cerise_otaku. **

We would both very much appreciate it if you would continue to support her there as well. I will be trying to post new chapters here too, but as my schedule is hectic and I have my own story to write, I may not always be punctual. I will however, do my best.

Please bare with us both and send your wishes out to her, thank you for reading.

Blood (**newXmoonXfox**)


	8. Inconvenience Number 7

**Title**: Inconveniences  
**Genre**: Humor/Romance  
**Warnings**: Shonen-ai, Yaoi, whatever you wanna call it.  
**Overall Rating**: T  
**Important Note**: This is an AU fic set in the 21st century. Aang has hair. Zuko has hair.  
**Summary**: 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.  
**Word Count**: 2,986  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and never will.

* * *

Aang was trembling. It wasn't the conscious sort of trembling, the kind where you knew you were trembling and watched your hand with a sort of detached interest. No, it most certainly wasn't that. It was the terrified kind of trembling, where the last thing you were concerned about was watching evidence of your own terror but more focused on trying to calm yourself.

In Aang's case, his efforts to calm himself were not working very well. They were only making him sweat.

His eyes flickered from Zuko who was sprawled on the couch at a rather awkward angle to Iroh who was sipping tea from a porcelain cup.

'Well...' Iroh began as he set down his tea cup. 'It looks like you two have gotten off on the wrong foot. Now, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be one to interfere-' He was cut off as Zuko snorted. Iroh shot him a shrewd look and then continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. 'But I assured Gyatso that Aang's time here would be comfortable and that my nephew would be hospitable and accommodative.' he said pointedly.

There was a pause and Aang's eyes flickered toward Zuko again. This time, their eyes met and he hastily looked away.

'Obviously, I was mistaken.' Iroh said frankly. 'I understand how you two may not necessarily get along but that is absolutely no reason to get physical. I'm disappointed.'

Aang swallowed and smothered the urge to brush away a strand of hair tickling his cheekbone. In fact, he was smothering the urge to do many things - like running some place where he would never have to face Zuko again, or asking Iroh whether or not he could go and take his medication since his head was beginning to feel like it would implode at any second. It was a moment before he realized that Iroh was talking again.

'Whatever the issue between you two is, it's none of my business. But I cannot allow you two to continue like this. Tonight, you can arrange my collection of tea leaves. Tomorrow morning, you can clean the yard and and in the evening, you can cook dinner.'

'You're going to making us work?' Zuko asked, unimpressed.

'Together, nephew.' Iroh said simply.

His words were met with silence and even though the fear was having a rather disorienting effect on Aang, he still saw Zuko's jaw clench. 'Why?' Zuko snapped.

'Simply to determine whether or not there is even a genuine problem.' Iroh said.

'Yes, of course. We just break people's noses and knee them in the crotch for fun don't we, Uncle?' Zuko said through gritted teeth.

And even though there was little about the circumstances that was actually funny, the corner of Iroh's mouth twitched. 'You can start on the tea leaves now, if you want.'

A low growl issued from Zuko's mouth and then, he pushed himself off the couch and hobble-stomped out of the room. Aang watched him go and for some reason, felt rather miserable.

'I'm sorry.' he muttered in a small voice.

'You have nothing to apologize for. I merely hope that you will forgive my nephew.' Iroh said with a rueful smile. He returned to his tea and understanding that there was nothing more for them to talk about, Aang stood up and left the room.

Despite the fact that he was feeling vaguely like a huge ass, Aang found himself unable to brush off the pain in his nose any longer. It was making his temples throb and steadily, even the thought of uttering a sound was beginning to seem too daunting. The pain was the only thing that drove him to climb up the stairs and knock faintly on the door to Zuko's room.

He stood there for nearly five minutes and once it was clear that Zuko wasn't about to play any active role in letting him in, Aang quietly slid the door open and sidled in. The older boy was lying sprawled on his bed, an arm thrown over his eyes and a pair of earphones in his ears.

Aang put a knee on the mattress of the fold-up bed and reached over under his pillow. He hurriedly snatched up the tablets and shoved them into his pocket before pulling away from the bed and standing up. His eyes darted cautiously towards Zuko as he shifted and he froze as their gazes met.

The older boy's gaze was searing and Aang was sure that he was about to blurt out something stupid.

But then, Zuko's eyes flickered to the door and Aang noticed - with a certain degree of detachment that the older boy's gaze seemed more searing when he looked at the door rather than Aang.

He wasn't sure if that was good or not.

* * *

Three hours passed.

And Zuko was beginning to wonder just when Aang would stop trembling like a demented lunatic. He had considered that maybe he was cold, but the way his eyes frantically darted about everywhere was just utterly ridiculous. Not to mention that a rosy blush had made itself permanent on his cheeks.

Zuko swore under his breath and forcefully drew the curtains to his room.

The truth was that Zuko was just as nervous as Aang was. His earphones lay forgotten on his bed and before the half hour he'd spent staring at Aang in the yard, he'd shifted from the bed to the desk to the bathroom to pacing back and forth in the tiny space in between the two beds. In his agitation, he'd accidentally slammed his knee into the bedpost, toppled over and decided not to get up unless it was absolutely necessary.

In the end, it was Aang who knocked on the door and poked his head in. 'Uh... Zuko?'

A few moments passed in silence and Zuko replied. Mostly for Aang's sake, who was beginning to look nervous again. 'What?'

'Your Uncle says that if... we don't arrange the tea leaves soon, he'd make us do more tomorrow.' Aang said quietly.

'So?'

Aang faltered and the way he spoke next made Zuko suspect that he was picking through his words very carefully. 'Well... I thought, let's just get over with it?...' Aang said uncertainly.

'Right.' Zuko said as he heaved himself off the floor. For a second, Aang's breathing was the only sound in the room. Then, Zuko sighed exasperatedly. 'I kind of need you to move so that I can get out.'

'Oh, um, yeah.' Aang said as he moved away. He hesitated for a second, then seemed to think better of it and went down the stairs by himself.

* * *

Iroh had never been much of a materialist but if there was one thing that he refused to part with, it was his collection of tea leaves. Some of them were years old, preserved like some sort of wine even though Zuko was entirely unsure whether time actually affected the leaves in any way. Iroh kept them in a special drawer that he had made so that it could slide into one of his shelves. It was further divided into several more compartments. And it was heavy.

And somehow, by a simple shuffling of his feet, Zuko was left all alone in the foreground and therefore, had to pull it out.

Aang stood to one side as Zuko knelt in front of the shelf and tugged experimentally at the compartment. It slid out smoothly enough. Zuko peeked into it, hoped that his estimate of the weight was correct and then pulled.

Unfortunately for Zuko, it was only once the compartment was sliding out that Zuko's eyes fell on Iroh's new teapot. It took him a fraction of a second to deduce that it was ornate and heavy. He tried to move, to respond in some way. But his arms were both supporting the drawer and his legs were sandwiched in between him and the floor. His breath caught in his throat and despite himself, he screwed his eyes shut.

Zuko had been fully expecting a crash, a cruel little crack or even the sound of one of his bones breaking under the weight of the wood but all he heard was a little squeak and then something bumping into the shelf. His eyes snapped down to his hand and it was a moment before he realized that it was Aang who was holding a majority of the weight of the compartment. And Aang who was being thrust at a rather awkward angle against the shelf.

The younger boy's knee dug insistently into his back and his elbow jutted against the side of Zuko's neck and he didn't even have to look at the younger boy to know that he was flushed crimson. He was tempted to tell Aang to stop exhaling in his face but he couldn't look the younger boy in the eye, knowing that he himself was blushing like a schoolgirl.

* * *

Zuko had started at the town school at the age of 12 and the first thing that he'd noticed about the school was that everyone was required to learn Mandarin Chinese up till the eight grade. It wasn't so much the language part as it was the fact that all the students from the six, seventh and eighth grade were dumped in one huge hall and expected to focus. So naturally, everyone sucked at it.

Everyone except Aang.

Aang had never been a particularly exceptional student. He studied what he wanted to. And he loved language, history and soccer.

The first time Zuko had met Aang, he'd been greeted with a rather exuberant greeting which he had only understood because Jet had been there to translate.

The second time had been when Aang had been pouting at the vending machine and Zuko had unceremoniously kicked it until it had coughed out the younger boy's candy bar. Aang had thanked him in fluent Mandarin.

By the third time, Zuko had realized that the only reason Aang even liked language was so that he could jabber on about anything and everything while people looked at him with a vacant expression. After that, nearly every one of their run-ins had been punctuated by a rant in Mandarin, Zuko's curt nod and Aang's mischievous grin as he said whatever it was that he wanted to say to him and then sauntered off.

And then, Aang found the Gang and Zuko had never had to hear the younger boy speak Chinese again.

If not for the Gang, Aang would eventually have won Zuko over. Some might have thought that it was rather sad.

It wasn't.

Zuko hated Aang's annoying voice and he hated Chinese.

Curiously, he couldn't quite bring himself to hate Aang but that didn't make him any less annoying.

But now, as the two of them sat cross-legged on the plush carpet in Iroh's living room, sachets of tea leaves sprawled around them, Aang squinted at the labels in Chinese and stumbled over the words.

'You used to be good.' Zuko said before he could stop himself.

Aang's head snapped up, his brow furrowed in puzzlement as he stared at him.

'At Mandarin. You used to be so good at it. Why'd you stop speaking?' Zuko said, his fingers fiddling compulsively with the corner of a sachet.

'Oh, that.' Aang said and a nervous laugh followed. 'Toph said it made me sound like a monkey.'

'And you listened?' Zuko asked with raised eyebrows. Aang shrugged in reply.

There was a pause and then, Zuko spoke, his fingers still tugging at the corner of the sachet. 'My Uncle said you were good enough to write poetry.'

'Really?' Aang echoed, a small smile on his lips. 'Where'd he hear me speak Chinese?'

'Oh... nowhere.' Zuko said.

'Then, how did he know?'

'I just... I tried to get him to translate some of what you used to say to me. But you spoke too fast and I was crap at Chinese. But he understood a few words and said that the word placement was apparently really good.' Zuko said with a shrug.

'You could have just asked me, you know.' Aang said. 'Or... Jet. He knew Chinese too, right?'

'No. He was just trying to impress some girl at the seafood joint.' Zuko muttered.

'A girl? But-'

Zuko's hand slipped and the sachet split open. Tea leaves cascaded over his wrist and onto the carpet and swearing under his breath, he hastily gathered them up.

'Uh, here.' Aang said as he held out a napkin.

Zuko took it with a curt nod and dumped all the tea leaves inside before rolling it up and setting it aside. He tentatively looked at Aang through the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure which one of them looked away faster. Zuko cleared his throat and said, 'Right, what do we have to do again?'

'Well...' Aang said as he looked at the list that Iroh had left them. 'First we sort the sachets by type. Then, we take each type and set them in the compartments according to expiration date. Simple enough?'

'Except all the labels are in Chinese.' Zuko reminded.

'You've still got your seventh grade Chinese textbook.' Aang said.

Zuko's eyebrows rose.

'I couldn't sleep so I was just looking around. I didn't touch anything.' Aang said defiantly.

Zuko stared at him for a second before heaving himself to his feet and making his way towards the stairs.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Aang had Zuko's Chinese book propped up in front of him as he noted down the numerals on a sheet of paper all the while mumbling random snippets of Chinese under his breath. Zuko took the opportunity to group together all the labels that looked remotely similar ad stack them on top of each other. By the time Aang was done with the numerals, Zuko had made a row of little stacks on the floor and was leaning his back against the couch. 'Here. Check the expiry dates while I sort them according to type.' Aang said as he handed Zuko the sheet of paper and picked up one of the stacks.

Despite the fact that Zuko would rather have been lying in his room at that moment, he sighed and memorized the numbers before starting to check the expiry dates on the sachets that Aang had finished arranging.

To Zuko's surprise, it didn't take very long, granted both of them kept their mouths shut and eyes down and after an hour, Aang was triumphantly arranging the sachets in the compartment. He seemed to be unable to decide whether he wanted to arrange the sachets leaning against each other or on top of each other. He alternated between the two for nearly ten minutes and it was only once Zuko shoved his hand away with his textbook that he relented.

'Leave them alone.' Zuko said exasperatedly.

There was a pause and Zuko was just picking up the leftover sachets when Aang spoke - only Zuko didn't understand a word since it was in Chinese. His head snapped toward Aang and he was surprised by how earnest he looked.

'What did you just say?' Zuko asked uneasily.

''I'm sorry.' Aang blurted out, his voice sounding choked.

'You could have said that in English.' Zuko muttered as he gathered up the sachets and shoved them into an air-tight box.

'I know I didn't promise you that I wouldn't tell anyone but what I said was out of line. And I said it even though I knew your Uncle could have heard. I'm sorry. I really am.' Aang said in one breath.

Zuko was tempted to tell Aang that what he was, was stark raving mad but the way his eyebrows drooped at the edges and the way his teeth nervously worried his bottom lip made him stop. 'It's fine.' he said slowly.

Aang's lips curved into a small smile and he nodded. Zuko was grateful for his silence.

* * *

That night, Zuko went to bed only once he was sure that Aang had fallen asleep. He wasn't sure why he waited - perhaps it was because he just didn't want to go through the process of wondering whether an apology also entailed that he had to wish Aang good night before he fell asleep or if Aang would want to talk... or something.

The thought made Zuko shudder - not because Aang was all that annoying (he really wasn't) but because Zuko could have sworn that each time he saw Aang's mouth move he could almost imagine what his lips had felt like on his own.

Admittedly, it wasn't the best kiss he'd ever had - in fact, he wasn't even sure it qualified as a kiss. A lip bump, maybe but not a kiss. Nor was it a kind of situation he'd expected to find himself in. Jet, sure. He could think of at least ten girls who Jet would try to kiss and who would then proceed to either slap him or knee him in the crotch but not him.

Never him.

But the fact that he had indeed somehow landed himself in such a situation- with Aang of all the people in the world, made him blush. It made his toes curl in his shoes. It made him want to bury his head under the blankets and never emerge.

But more than anything, it made him want to kiss Aang again. Just to see what it felt like when he didn't get kneed in the crotch afterwards.

* * *

**newXmoonXfox note: **The original post lives on LiveJournal at cerise_otaku's page. 8D But here's the next chapter!


	9. Inconvenience Number 8

**Title**: Inconveniences  
**Genre**: Humor/Romance  
**Warnings**: Shonen-ai, Yaoi, whatever you wanna call it.  
**Overall Rating**: T  
**Important Note**: This is an AU fic set in the 21st century. Aang has hair. Zuko has hair.  
**Summary**: 16 year old Aang didn't mind when his guardian, Gyatso, went off for a fitness program concerning his arthritis. He didn't mind having to spend three whole weeks of the summer without him. But he most certainly did mind having to stay over at Zuko's house for three whole weeks and the series of inconveniences that befell him that particular summer.  
**Word Count**: 3, 566  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and never will.

* * *

**Part VIII**  
**Phone Calls and Tupperware**

That night, Zuko was wide awake when Aang suddenly jerked awake. He'd been certain that he would have eventually fallen asleep but all hopes he had had vanished as Aang sat up in bed, groaning. Zuko slowly poked his head out from beneath the covers but Aang seemed not to notice as he fumbled around in the semi-darkness for something.

There was a pause and then, something fell to the floor with a thump and Zuko jumped. Even in the darkness, he saw Aang's eyes dart up to his face and Zuko bristled as their eyes met. With a huff, Zuko heaved himself into a sitting position.

"What's wrong?" Zuko muttered, trying to make his voice sound bleary.

"I hate Jet." Aang hissed angrily.

Zuko froze but Aang was already speaking, his voice low.

"I swear, I would rather be punched in the gut a few times than have a fractured nose."

"It can't be that bad." Zuko said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Why don't you try it?" Aang muttered. "Even the painkillers don't work for long." He uttered another groan and pushed the comforter aside.

Under normal circumstances, Zuko would have told Aang to shut up and go to sleep but since it was kind of his fault that Aang was in pain in the first place, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms above his head.

"What?" Aang muttered with a pained scowl.

"It's almost time for your medicine." Zuko said as he stood up and groped around in the darkness for his shirt. He found it draped over the back of his desk chair and pulled it on before flicking the switch.

"Argh. Even that hurts." Aang muttered as he shielded his eyes with his hands and flopped back onto the bed.

"Just…here." Zuko muttered as he snatched up the medicine from beneath Aang's pillow and searched around for the younger boy's hand. "Take it!" he exclaimed as Aang's hand receded further under the pillow.

"Switch off the light!" he retorted angrily.

"How do you expect to take it with the lights off and your eyes closed?" Zuko said exasperatedly.

"I just will." Aang said as he rolled over onto his side, his back to Zuko.

"Will you stop whining already and just take the medicine?" Zuko snapped.

Aang snuggled further into himself but even the pillow couldn't muffle his next words. "Just shove it in my mouth. I'm sure you have some experience with that."

There was a pause and Zuko's head snapped up so fast he was sure he heard something pop. He saw Aang's shoulders tense as he realized what he'd said but other than a nervous shuffle, he made no move.

He wasn't entirely sure why he didn't just heave Aang up by the collar and punch him right then and there - he should have. In fact, he wanted to. Every single inch of him was itching to teach Aang a lesson but he was blushing so hard, he doubted he could even look into a mirror without dying. The two of them were silent for a long, long, long time and it was only once his phone buzzed quietly that Zuko looked up. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the screen.

Jet.

Zuko resisted the urge to fling his cell phone at the wall and instead, let Jet hang up - he knew why he was calling. But at three in the morning?

Asshole, Zuko concluded. In fact, there was a whole torrent of swearwords he could think of that would flatter Jet very much but he was distracted as Aang suddenly rolled over onto his back, his eyes scrunched up tight.

"I'm sorry." he said, miserably.

"If you have a problem with me and Jet, just say it and get it over with." Zuko said, his voice sharpening as his phone once again began to vibrate. He snatched it up and violently shoved it into his pocket.

"I don't-!" Aang began. His eyes slid open and he cut himself off as he saw the expression on the older boy's face.

Zuko straightened up and flung the medicine onto Aang's bed before handing him the water bottle that had been resting on the bedside table. "Just take it." he snapped as the younger boy refused to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I really am.." Aang said quietly.

"You could at least have the decency to admit that you have a problem." Zuko said coldly.

"I don't!" Aang said and even though Zuko's eyes narrowed, he pressed on. "Not with you and Jet... together? I just..." he said but the older boy took that exact moment to turn away and Aang felt something in him snap.

"He broke Katara's heart!" he blurted.

"So?" Zuko snapped, still not facing Aang.

"I don't trust him." he responded even though his brain was yelling at him to shut up. This wasn't what he'd been meaning to say!

"How is that my problem?" Zuko asked sharply.

"Because I don't want him to do to you what he did to Katara!" Aang said loudly.  
_  
That _made Zuko turn around and even though the younger boy's cheeks were crimson with embarrassment, he did not look away.

"What?" Zuko echoed in disbelief.

Aang did not think he had the courage to reply.

"Why do you care?"

"I just do." Aang said softly.

Zuko's gaze intensified and this time, Aang was forced to look away. If he'd held the older boy's gaze for a few seconds more though, he would have noticed something shift in his eyes. Something which made Zuko want to kiss Aang even more. And he would have, he really really would have. Except then, his phone vibrated and he was jolted out of his reverie.

"Fuck." he muttered under his breath and his movements were violent and choppy as he clipped off the back cover of his phone and wrenched the battery out.

The buzzing came to an abrupt end.

He looked at Aang out of the corner of his eye and their gazes met. He wasn't sure what gave away the fact that it had been Jet calling, probably the stupid picture that the other boy had added to his phone along with his name in glaring capital letters - but the corner of Aang's mouth twitched.

Zuko noticed, with a vague sense of accomplishment, that after that, Aang swallowed his medicine with much more willingness.

* * *

The following morning, Aang woke up to see Zuko sitting up in bed, scowling. His mobile phone was clutched in his hand and he was glaring down at the screen, his eyes narrowed. Aang probably would have wished him a good morning but since Zuko didn't look particularly hospitable, he tried to be silent as he pushed the comforter aside and got out of bed.

Aang heard the sound of Zuko removing the back cover of his phone again and the other boy's voice seemed quite light-hearted when he spoke next.

"You play soccer with that?" He said and Aang followed his gaze to where he was looking at his legs.

"What?" Aang said defensively, his cheeks flushing red as he snatched up his pillow and tried to conceal his legs behind it.

"Aren't forwards supposed to have stronger-looking legs?" Zuko said, his voice light even though he was gripping his phone so hard his nails had turned white.

"My legs are strong." Aang said and then blurted out, "Or should I kick you again?"

Zuko's eyes flickered up to him but he just snorted. "You couldn't kick someone in the crotch even if they paid you."

"I could!"

"Kick Jet for me, then." Zuko muttered darkly as he flung his phone aside.

There was a pause and Aang stared at the older boy as if he'd gone insane. "What?"

Zuko reached down under his bed and began to search around for something. When Aang did not move, he absently said, "Nothing."

"Oh. Okay." Aang said, casting a curious glance in Zuko's direction as the older boy pulled away from the bed with a pair of socks in his hand. "Hurry up. I want to finish the yard before it starts raining." Zuko said as he began to pull on the socks.

"Rain?" Aang echoed as he reached over for his bag and pulled out some pants. "The sky's been the same way for over a week. It won't rain."

* * *

Aang wasn't sure if he'd jinxed it but in the end, he and Zuko were left standing in the rain by a rather smug-looking Iroh. Zuko had tried to protest but apparently, cleaning the yard in the rain was part of their punishment.

Aang, though, failed to see the point. He plopped down miserably onto the wet bench and reached up to squeeze the water out of his shirt before realizing there was really no point.

There was a pause and then, Zuko joined him. The two sat there for several minutes before Iroh shot them a pointed look from inside the kitchen.

"What are we supposed to do anyway? I thought he meant for us to rake the yard or something." Aang said.

"He still does." Zuko said as he tried to squeeze some of the water out of his hair.

"Oh." Aang said. He gloomily looked out at the yard before simply letting his head fall back against the bench and closing his eyes against the oncoming rain. His lips curved into a grin as fat raindrops splashed onto his skin and despite the fact that the rain felt more like needles, it soothed Aang's throbbing nose.

"Zuko...' Aang said quietly.

"Hm..."

"What did Toph say to you?"

There was a pause and then, he heard Zuko sigh.

"What's it to you?" he asked quietly.

"You talked about me. It's the only reason you're being nice to me." Aang said.

Zuko turned to look at him and had it not been for his proximity, Aang wouldn't have caught what he said next. "What if it isn't?"

"What?" Aang echoed, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What if I'm being nice to you because I want to be?" Zuko asked quietly.

"Are you?" He was forced to shuffle closer to hear Zuko's response as the clouds rumbled..

Zuko's eyes flickered down to Aang's mouth and it seemed to take him a lot of effort to look into Aang's eyes again. They were almost nose to nose now and had the younger boy's skin not been wet, he would have been able to feel Zuko's breath ghosting off his skin.

"No." Zuko said through gritted teeth as he pulled away. His expression morphed almost immediately into a scowl and the younger boy followed his gaze to where he was looking past his shoulder. He felt his nose tingle as his gaze fell on Jet who was leaning against the side of the house. The older boy's lips were curved into a smirk and as his eyes flickered over to Aang, he tried not to shudder.

Aang watched in silence as Zuko stood up and made his way over to Jet. Jet, however, watched Aang and inclined his head at him just as Zuko came to a stop beside him. Jet said something. Zuko's scowl seemed to deepen and then, his hand was on Jet's chest and he was leading him away.

The wind whipped away their voices and Aang had to bite his lip hard to not simply throw caution to the wind and shuffle closer to the two of them. Several seconds passed in silence. Zuko scowled. And before he could stop himself, he was shuffling over on the bench to get a better look at the two of them.

On the other side of the yard, Zuko's face was contorted with annoyance. "I said, not now."

"Are you busy with him?" Jet asked with a wry smile.

"My Uncle's home." Zuko said flatly.

"So?"

"So, no." Zuko said, through gritted teeth.

"I called you last night. And this morning." Jet drawled.

"I couldn't find my phone." Zuko lied.

There was a tense pause and Zuko resisted the urge to growl as Jet backed him up against the side of the house. The other boy's hand found its way into his pocket and Zuko scowled as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Couldn't find it, huh?" Jet asked, but he seemed almost amused as his eyes flickered over to Aang and then back to his face. "What're you doing, Zuko?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"I'm not doing anything. So don't fucking manhandle me, Jet." Zuko hissed as he shoved the other boy aside and took a few steps away from him.

"Well, I guess I can understand the temptation. Arrowhead isn't exactly eleven anymore, now is he?" Jet remarked with an almost feral grin on his lips.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Zuko snarled viciously.

"You know what it means. Try not to let Katara find out. She'll go berserk." he said.

His chuckle rang in Zuko's ears as he walked away, his hands tucked into his pockets. Zuko watched him go, his cheeks burning even though the freezing rainwater was flowing down his face in little rivulets. He stood there for nearly five minutes and it was only once Aang came to stand beside him that he looked away.

And in spite of how badly Zuko wanted to massacre Jet, he couldn't help but smile as his gaze fell on Aang, who was holding a rake nearly a foot longer than him.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked exasperatedly..

"Raking the yard." Aang said simply.

"It's all mud. We'll have to clean up the leaves by hand." Zuko said quietly.

"What?" Aang echoed and his face fell.

"Well... It's not that bad." He said, not sure why he was the one being the optimist even though that was usually what Aang did.

"_Sure_. Of course not." Aang said with a roll of his eyes.

* * *

Unfortunately, unlike the tea leaves, the yard seemed to take even longer than expected. Iroh did not once come out to call them in and the only break they got was when Iroh flung out a bottle of orange juice and a tin of coke out for them. Zuko had sprung upon the coke at once but Aang had begun a long-winded lecture on how caffeine was bad for the health and how Gyatso said that knowingly inflicting harm on one's self was an act of blasphemy.

In the end, he'd set it aside just to get Aang to shut up and they had somehow ended up sharing the orange juice.

Presently, the two of them sat on the bench, exhausted, soaking wet and speckled with mud. Zuko was just rubbing the back of his neck when Aang got up and made his way purposefully towards the front of the house.

Zuko watched him walk away in puzzlement but made no move to follow him. Instead, he fished his phone out of his pocket and shielding the screen from the rain, switched it on.

7 missed calls.

Zuko huffed and was just weighing the pros and cons of calling Jet when something slammed with a thud into the bench. The phone slipped from his fingers and splashed into a puddle of water. But before he could even move to pick it up, Aang loudly cleared his throat. Zuko wearily followed the younger boy's pointed gaze and rubbing the rain out of his eyes, realized that a soccer ball had knocked into the bench.

"Oh yeah, bitches. Those were my twiggy legs." Aang said, holding his hands up as if he were talking to ten people, not one.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Zuko asked in utter bewilderment.

"We..." Aang said pointedly. "Are going to play soccer in the rain."

"Why?" Zuko said exasperatedly.

"Because its damn hard and because you insulted my legs but mostly because you've been brooding for two hours." Aang said brightly.

Zuko stared at the younger boy for a full second, well aware of the fact that he could feel his cheeks growing warm. He wanted to thank Aang for even caring but all that came out was a quipped, "I don't play soccer."

"Well, should've thought about that earlier, sucker." Aang said with a mischievous grin.

"Do you always talk trash when you play soccer?" Zuko drawled.

"Always." Aang said, still grinning.

Zuko stared at Aang for a full minute and when the younger boy did not look away, he huffed and heaved himself to his feet. "I don't play soccer." he repeated.

"You just kick the ball around." Aang said as he scooped up the ball and held it at his side. "Come on." he urged.

Zuko watched him walk away with a scowl and swearing under his breath, scooped his phone out of the water before following him onto the road.

"No rules apply. One goal for both of us, between those two houses. First one to score twenty wins. Simple enough?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed.

Aang's lips curved into a smile which, if Zuko didn't know any better, he would have thought was almost suggestive. He was just weighing the odds of that when Aang, without warning, flung the ball into the air - he wasn't entirely sure why, it wasn't like it was basketball - and shot after it at full speed.

Zuko wasn't much of a soccer player and his limbs were already aching with fatigue. But there was just something about the way Aang looked over his shoulder and grinned challengingly at him that made Zuko run after him.

They played for nearly half an hour and in that time, Zuko vaguely realized that Aang really had taken his mind off Jet.

After that, they were forced to stop because even though it was only four, the sky was already darkening. Not that the visibility before that had been much better, Zuko had just resorted to wildly kicking around until his foot collided with something - most of the time, Aang's leg.

However, despite how badly Aang had thrashed him, Zuko still thought that he had finished quite well at eleven goals - not that that had been a consequence of technique or anything. Zuko could just kick so hard that Aang no option but to step aside.

Zuko, however, welcomed the break and collapsed next to Aang on the front lawn, his chest heaving. "That last goal wasn't fair." he said, between breaths.

"Yes, it was." Aang said brightly.

"You bit me!" Zuko burst out, indignantly rubbing at his shoulder.

"So?" Aang asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Well, people usually do that when they're having sex, Twinkles..." A condescending voice said and Zuko sat up so fast, he thought he felt something strain.

He wasn't exactly sure as to why he was so jumpy, maybe it was the words that set him off or maybe it was the fact that it was the short girl that had said them (or how casually). In either case, he suddenly felt almost awkward lying next to Aang in her vicinity. The fact that she was holding an umbrella intimidated him for some reason too.

"Hey, Toph." Aang said as he sat up as well, seemingly unperturbed by her words.

"Hey, Twinkles. Sparky." Toph drawled.

"Spar-"

"That's you." Aang whispered and Zuko turned to glare at the younger boy.

"So, I see you've gotten to know each other well enough to start biting." Toph said with a lewd sneer.

Zuko glared at her and willed himself to not fidget, despite how much he wanted to. "Yeah." he said coldly. It was only several minutes later that he would realize that he'd replied in the affirmative for some reason.

"That's nice." Toph said brightly and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aang staring almost curiously at her..

There was a pause and then, she sighed and held up a Tupperware container. "Well, I'm here to see Iroh. I'll be staying for dinner." she declared.

"What?" Zuko said in disbelief.

"I said I'll be staying for dinner." Toph said loudly.

"You have dinner with my Uncle?" Zuko spluttered.

"Of course. Third Sunday of each month." she said brightly.

"Why?"

"Because we're friends. Duh, Sparky." She said with a roll of her eyes.

There was a tense pause and then, Toph waved and made her way up the drive. Zuko watched in utter astonishment as she rang the doorbell, and was let into the house by a smiling Iroh - after wiping her shoes on the rug without even being told to!

* * *

**newXmoonXfox:** SHE UPDATED! YAAAAAAY! 8DDD I will admit I've played a part in delaying this, but also in helping write it so no one try to kill me! Please direct all reviews to her still as even though she can't reply, she certainly loves them i'm sure~


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